Bill WattersonCalvin and HobbesHand-Colored Sunday Comic Strip Original Art dated 10-19-1986
(Universal Press Syndicate, 1986). Oh boy -- be prepared to
have your world rocked by this one, Comic Art lovers!
We don't have to tell you how incredibly rare this amazing
masterwork is! It is, in fact, the first time this century that a
Calvin and Hobbes comic strip original is being offered at
public auction! It's a well known fact that artist Bill Watterson
has carefully held onto his original artwork, despite many generous
offers to part with a strip. We're not kidding when we say we would
have been ecstatic to have uncovered a daily example of this
medium-defining comic strip to offer, but to have a beautifully
hand-colored (by the artist himself) Sunday is pretty much beyond
belief! It was presented by Watterson as a gift to fellow
cartoonist Brian Basset, creator of the popular strips
Adam@Home and Red and Rover, who cherished it for
many years in his personal collection.
The art is in artist marker pens and watercolor on thin bristol
board, with an image area of approximately 13" x 9", matted to an
overall 18" x 15". Some of the black lines (in particular, the
lettering) had very slightly faded, and there is clear plastic tape
applied by Universal Press when adding positioning marks and the
syndicate credit, but these hardly detract from the subtle beauty
of the line art and coloring -- not to mention the playful dialog
between Calvin and his faithful imaginary companion, Hobbes. We
love the mention of the "drive-in classic" film, "The Blob" in the
final panel. And Watterson has added a personalized inscription to
his friends, Brian and Linda Basset, with a funny reference to the
strip's gag line.
Needless to say, here is an extremely rare opportunity to make an
original Calvin and Hobbes strip the centerpiece of your
original comic art collection. We wouldn't suggest waiting for the
next one to come along!